beauty reviews & other musings

November 22, 2016November 22, 2016

Glossybox: November 2016

Glossybox Round 2! It’s come around quick, but here it is – the UK November 2016 Glossybox, featuring a bevy of goodies intended for the party season. The box itself may not be as glitzy as Birchbox’s offering this month, but the contents are on par, if not better. Themed around being party-ready, the products are all tied together and intended to be and transformative and to introduce some glam. Here’s the low-down on what I received:

Wilkinson Sword Quattro for Women Disposable Razors

Disposable razors? Yep. I was a little surprised to find these, but they don’t look like your average disposable razor (like those horrible orange BIC ones that shred your legs). A pretty hefty pack of 3, these pink beauties from Wilkinson Sword actually do a pretty brilliant job of giving you a clean, moisturised shave.The head pivots on the handle, and each razor has 4 blades to improve efficiency. Even if you stick to your permanent razor, these are perfect for taking away on trips, or using if you’re in a pinch – especially at £5.69 for a pack of 3.

DE BRUYERE Beauté Eye Pencil in Bubble 07

Eyeshadow crayons are the best, right? You just scribble it on your lid, give it a quick blend with a brush or your fingers, et voila! Quick smokey/shimmery eye. I have a bunch of creamy stick shadows – my favourites are the Kiko twist-up ones – and am excited to use this one for the party season. This shade, a taupe-y shimmer with a hint of khaki, is suited to everyone and can be easily sheered out for a more understated look. The formula is also highly creamy and surprisingly long-lasting – win. These sticks retail for 15 Euros, which is around £13.

This Works deep sleep pillow spray

If there was ever a product that I really needed in my life, it’s this. As a perpetually anxious person and insomnia-sufferer, getting to sleep is sometimes a (literal) nightmare. The idea behind this spray is to provide calming aromatherapy at bedtime, to help you relax and ease into the land of nod. It has a rather strong smell, due to the blend of lavender, vetiver and chamomile. It’s hard to tell, but I genuinely think this helped me relax and fall asleep faster. I’m keen to try their Stress Less formula – which can be applied to the wrists to smell and ease your nerves. This little spray costs £16 for the full-size 75 ml bottle.

111Skin Bio Cellulose Facial Treatment Mask

I’ve seen these around Instagram and YouTube – pricey sheet/gel masks in luxe-looking packaging. I’m personally a fan of scrub-type masks that come in a pot, but I’m willing to try anything to improve my skin at this point. These masks retail at £20 each, which is somewhat ridiculous considering they suggest you use them 3 times a week (lolwhat), but the packaging is very nice. The mask comes as a floppy gel sheet, with plastic film on either side to protect it – this was really fiddly to get out, since the serum stuff is sticky as well. The mask has a nice fresh skincare-y scent to it, but the issue I always have with these is they never seem to fit my face. It ended up kind of hanging off my forehead and nose, which wasn’t the most comfortable experience I’ve ever had – also I looked like a cross between Damien from Mean Girls (with the ham on his face) and a serial killer. Following the instructions, I left the mask on for 20 minutes then peeled it off and massaged the extra product in. My skin stayed sticky for ages afterwards, which felt disconcerting and heavy (not a fan of that before bedtime).The sticky-face feeling continued for the next day, which wasn’t great.
As I’ve said many times before, I’m not in need of plumping/moisturising skincare due to my oily skin, so I wouldn’t repurchase this, especially at that price. However, it was good to have the opportunity to try it, and I think this would probably make a nice gift for someone.

RUBY Professional Large Tapered Blending Brush

A person can never have too many makeup brushes – especially eye brushes. This one from RUBY (another unknown brand) is fluffy and intended for blending. It resembles one of my favourite brushes, the Zoeva 221 Luxe Soft Crease Brush – my holy grail for getting that soft and diffuse eye colour. I tried this out with the De Bruyere crayon that also arrived and was really impressed – it’s not quite as soft as the Zoeva brush, but it is nearly as good for a few pounds less.

Raffaello

Totally random extra, but always appreciated! Tasty confection, not chocolate as I had expected though. Made with coconut and almond, with a crispy wafer shell, this was really tasty and would make a nice stocking-filler for someone on Christmas Day.

This month’s Glossybox has been full of really good little bits, that I’ve already been putting to use – the pillow spray is so helpful, and the eyeshadow stick is definitely a perfect easy-to-wear shade for both daytime and evening. Next month’s box should (hopefully) have some kind of festive theme, since December will soon be upon us (hooray for advent calendars and crappy music!), and I’m really looking forward to the beauty surprises that the box will hold.